What has changed – as if you need reminding – is the astounding volume of data we produce, collect, and preserve, how we extract value from it, how heavily regulated it is, how its managed over its lifecycle, and the extensive financial and human capital it consumes just to stay on an even keel. The rub is, there is no avoiding it.

Many companies have come to a decision point, whether to gear up and continue to store all data in-house or to outsource some or all of it to the cloud. Only those individuals with the greatest of foresight could have anticipated the voluminous data expansion awaiting them today (remember that in 2008 we slipped into recession). Now they see their storage systems from five years ago, even three years ago, collapsing under the weight.

The longevity of a typical data storage system is five years, but the investment is continual. Rule of thumb is that in the first year of a technology refresh, plan for a 20 to 30 percent capacity reserve. Then plan to add again in subsequent years to accommodate the inevitable growth. Whatever you project, you’ll probably need more.

Just as inevitable are new advancements in storage technologies. With that comes the need for new technical skills and perhaps compatibility issues with existing systems. There may also be new mandatory industry or government regulations.

This has many businesses thinking, “Maybe it’s time to look again at the cloud, at least for some storage requirements such as back-up.” The looming concerns many have are risk management and availability. Can I trust my data to the cloud, can I get it when I want it, where will it actually be stored, who has access to it, will compliance be jeopardized? These are questions that any legitimate CSP can answer satisfactorily. Just be sure you ask.

The fact is that, with the right provider/business partner, there is nothing done in-house that can’t been done in the cloud as safely and securely, more cost effectively, with data growth and future requirements already factored in.

Peak 10 is that right provider/business partner. The infrastructures at our 10 locations are built upon EMC and Cisco, and are PCI DSS and HIPAA compliant, as well as SSAE 16 audited. Services include multiple host support, access protocols, and tiers … from capacity disk to high-performance disk. Availability and security are integral to system design. Back-up capabilities extend all the way to continuous data protection in near-real time.

More importantly, our services include Peak 10; we leave no one to fend for themselves. Our solution architects work side by side with customers to ensure that their Peak 10 solution is precisely tailored to their data access, protection and hierarchical storage needs. And, we continually reassess, anticipate, and invest in the products, technologies, compliance mandates and expertise our customers will need from us as they grow in coming months and years.